- baffling
- baffling 1783, "bewildering," from BAFFLE (Cf. baffle); earlier a sailor's adjective for winds that blow variously and make headway difficult (c.1770s).
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
baffling
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Baffling — Baf fling (b[a^]f fl[i^]ng), a. Frustrating; discomfiting; disconcerting; as, baffling currents, winds, tasks. {Baff ling*ly}, adv. {Baff ling*ness}, n. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
baffling — index debatable, elusive, enigmatic, inexplicable, inscrutable, labyrinthine, mysterious Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. B … Law dictionary
baffling — [adj] puzzling abstruse, bewildering, beyond one, confusing, difficult to understand, enigmatic, hard to understand, incomprehensible, mystifying, over one’s head, perplexing, unclear, unfathomable; concept 403 Ant. clear, comprehensible … New thesaurus
Baffling — Baffle Baf fle (b[a^]f f l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Baffled} ( f ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Baffling} ( fl[i^]ng).] [Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless, abashed, jaded, Icel. b[=a]gr uneasy, poor, or b[=a]gr, n.,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
baffling — baffle ► VERB ▪ totally bewilder. ► NOUN ▪ a device used to restrain or regulate the flow of sound, light, gas, or a fluid. DERIVATIVES bafflement noun baffling adjective. ORIGIN perhaps related to French bafouer ridicule … English terms dictionary
baffling — adjective making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe (Freq. 1) a baffling problem I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast a problematic situation at home • Syn: ↑elusive, ↑knotty, ↑problematic, ↑ … Useful english dictionary
Baffling wind — Baffle Baf fle (b[a^]f f l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Baffled} ( f ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Baffling} ( fl[i^]ng).] [Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless, abashed, jaded, Icel. b[=a]gr uneasy, poor, or b[=a]gr, n.,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
baffling — adjective puzzling and frustrating … Wiktionary
baffling — Synonyms and related words: bewildering, bothering, confounding, confusing, defeating, discomposing, disconcerting, dismaying, distracting, disturbing, embarrassing, enigmatic, frustrating, intricate, mysterious, mystifying, perplexing,… … Moby Thesaurus
baffling — (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) a. inscrutable, perplexing. ANT.: explainable, decipherable … English dictionary for students
